Rambo the force of freedom

Yo! I’m sure you’re all like: “whaaaaaat he’s talkin’ ’bout Rambo on his basketball blog?! What’s gotten into him?!

Yeah, for a change I’m not gonna talk about basketball today. I mean, come on, there’s a life outside basketball! I’m sure y’all agree with that. And to tell you the truth, in the near future it’s highly likely that I’ll keep writing about different stuff on my blog… I feel like I’ve said a lof of things about basketball so far, so maybe it’s time to move on and to talk about something else… I’m mulling that over in my mind.

So today I just wanted to talk about… a cartoon. Yeah, a cartoon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a guy into cartoons, actually I didn’t watch any since I was a kid, which at 31 yo is quite reassuring regarding my sanity. That being said, I’ve just discovered a hell of a cartoon lately: Rambo, the Force of Freedom, released in 1986 and which was of course a spin-off of the action-packed Rambos movies.

C’mon don’t poke fun at me, I just happen to be a die-hard Stallone fan, so when I was a teenager I was rooting for Rambo and I was utterly psyched up 3 years ago when Stallone finally made the fourth and last installment of the Rambo series, almost 20 years after Rambo 3 was shot.

But oddly enough, I was never aware there was a Rambo cartoon. I guess leaving far away from the United States wasn’t the best way to get accustomed with this cartoon and to top it all I think it was never broadcasted in France, where I still live.

So the other day, as I was randomly surfing on youtube half-bored/half-asleep, I was totally dumfounded when I bumped into this cartoon: Rambo, The Force Of Freedom. 25 years after its official release, I finally realized that a Rambo cartoon was existing. Better late than never!

As a Rambo fan, I was hooked right from the get-go! So much so that a few hours later I was on ebay buying all the 6 “Force Of Freedom” DVDs. I can’t wait to get ’em in my mailbox, it’s gonna be a huge relief when I open the boxes.

Regarding the cartoon itself, of course you can see that it’s 25 years old, however lemme tell ya it still kicks ass! Rambo: the Force of Freedom definitely stands the test of time.

Right from the start, you can notice that contrary to the movies, Rambo is not fighting alone here. We were used to see Rambo banging up his opponents, destroying all by himself entire armies armed to the teeth! In the cartoon, Rambo teams up with Colonel Trautman, Turbo and Cat. Even if Rambo is still the top dog and most often saves the day, Turbo and Cat turn out to be very useful in the battlefield for Rambo. Coming right out of the movie, Colonel Trautman is rarely seen in action but is still a great military advisor for Rambo.

On the upside, it’s also great to see that the movies’ scores have been reused: it truly helps set the right mood and those scores are still pretty efficient.

The voiceover is great, every single actor is doing a hell of a job. I particularly appreciate the man playing Colonel Trautman. It’s funny to notice that Turbo’s voice is performed by James Avery, famous for his lead role in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as Will Smith’s father.

The infamous General Warhawk and his henchmen (off the top of my head you have Gripper, Nomad and I have the other one on the tip of my tongue but my memory plays tricks on me right now…) play the bad guys and basically all their attempts to take over the world are ruined by Rambo. He keeps thwarting all their efforts no matter what. Besides, it may seem a little repetitive sometimes, I mean every once in a while it’d be quite refreshing to discover some new opponents.

Unlike the movies, Rambo never kills anyone in the cartoon, even though there’s lots of fire exchange and a bunch of explosions. You’ll never see a single drop of blood, given that it was intended for the kids aged between 5 and 10 years.

Wow time goes by quite fast today, so I’m gonna have to leave you guys for now and maybe I’ll talk again about this cartoon later. Duty calls!

European Basketball

Hi all! It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything here… I’d be a liar if I was saying I was pretty busy lately… I guess I was just outta inspiration.

Anyway, it just dawned on me that I’ve never explained how Basketball became a real passion. Quite awkward when you write a basketball blog, ain’t it?

I live in France and I’m fortunate enough to dwell in a city (Limoges) that hosts a famous basketball team: Limoges CSP. It’s been almost 35 years now that this organization enlightens the city. For my part, I’ve been hooked since my teenage years, so more than 15 years ago. When you live in Limoges, being a BB fan is almost unavoidable, so I guess I just jumped on the bandwagon.

All the city supports its team… and during the games, the atmosphere is just electric in the arena, which can contain about 6.000 fans. Everybody in the arena root for the local team, howl, scream or booh the opponent, including the old ladies.  It was, and it still is, a nightmare for the opponents to play in this arena!

Rumor has it that back in the day, some old gray-haired man, seated near the court,  were even surreptitiously putting their walking sticks in the opponents’ legs! I wasn’t attending the games at the time, so I can’t confirm nor deny it, but it’s just a funny legend that I think was worth sharing…

Limoges won several titles, but I won’t go into details (it’d be way too long), just be advised Limoges won the European championship in 1993, which I think kind of sets the tone!

Oh yeah, I know when it comes to talking about basketball, you guys often think about the NBA… and you’re right on the money, since the NBA is undoubtedly the best basketball league in the world: the top dogs play over there (but not the best coaches IMHO) the game is more physical, more spectacular and whatnot. There’s no point in denying it.

That being said, it’d be a shame to ignore that some pretty good basketball is played in Europe. The latest international competitions over the last decade have showed us that some pretty good basketball can be played overseas… and even beat the Americans!

So my point is you sure as hell can find some pretty good and exciting BB players in Europe. Besides, mind-blowing players have played in Europe, including a bucketload of former famous NBA players. For the record, back in the 90’s Limoges called up Billy Knight, Trevor Ruffin, Kelly Tripucka, Tim Legler, Rolando Blackman, Vern Fleming, Chris Smith and a great deal of others NBA players… damn, I just can’t remember the others, my memory plays tricks on me right now…

Among all those players, a few of them were some real NBA stars and maybe in a future post I’ll talk about their adaptation (more often than not difficult) to the European game.

Be aware from the get-go that being a former NBA superstar didn’t mean you’d outclass your opponents in Europe, far from it! Some have been quite surprised to see how tough the game was in Europe.

But like I said, that’ll be another story for another day…

Stay tuned and keep enjoying the game 😉

NBA comebacks bug me…

Here we are again. Once again, a former player intends to make a comeback. This trend just ticks me off!

This time, it’s the former Utah Jazz player Russell who seeks to step-back on an NBA court. I don’t know what you guys think about it, but in my view it’s just ludicrous. I mean at 38 and after 3 years of retirement how can you possibly contemplate a come-back in a league where you know you’re bound to suffer physically against younger opponents? And for how much time anyway? 6 or 8 months? At best, it’s gonna be a short period of time. Don’t get me wrong, everybody is entitled to have their own wishful thinking, but in this case it just doesn’t make any sense.

Bryon Russell embodies a new trend. Being back in the game has been one the most sought-after activities for many former players over the last few years. Besides I’m fairly certain that next fall, a guy like Alonzo Mourning will try to come-back, mark my words!

Off the top of my head, a great deal of former players tried their hands at coming back or at least contemplated a return in the NBA : Charles Oakley (!), Allan Houston, Reggie Miller, Tim Hardaway, Karl Malone, Anfernee Hardaway… well I’m afraid my memory plays tricks on me so I’m gonna stop this short list here. Feel free to complete it if you want, as for me I’ll jog my memory later!

Talking about A. Hardaway, he managed to get a new gig last season (with Miami if I’m not mistaken), and well it ended up badly : he was waived in the middle of the season.

It’s worth mentionning that most of the players who seeks a come-back have always the same profile : they ended their career due to a career-threatening injury, at about 35 years.

I mean at about 35, injury or not you know your career is on the verge of being over anyway. So what’s the point of not accepting your fate? Okay they left the game in a way that was not supposed to happen, and you can bet for sure they wanted to leave the court on their own terms, but hey when you’re done, you’re done. You gotta to move on with your life, and get to grips with this new life!

More often than not, they explain this by “the love of the game”. Cute, ain’t it? Well, be sure that in backstage, the main reason is quite different and much more troublesome. “Love of the game”, my ass! Actually, just the tip of the iceberg.

It may seems hard to believe, but most of this guys have a great deal of difficulty not to loose their money once their career is over. I don’t remember precisely the numbers, but last year an official study revealed that about 60% of the former NBA players end up broke 4 to 5 years after their retirement. Yeah, I know what you guys think : its just pitiful and you gotta be quite uneducated to go belly-up. I wish I had the link of this study, but I don’t have it any more, so keep in mind Google is your best friend on the net!

Sometimes, it can be different. About 2 years ago, when Charles Oakley was seeking a comeback (at 45, yo!), some wisely suggested it was just for increasing sales of his brand-new book, which at the time was about to be released in the bookstores. How convenient! I’m sure Oakley didn’t intend to come-back all along, he just wanted his name to be heard in the medias again so that his book can take advantage of his new fame!

Magic Johnson faked AIDS?

Unbelievable stories pop up every now and then. But this one involving Magic Johnson’s health is far from being laughable. Actually, I kinda went off the deep end when I read about it.

First of all, here are the names of the 2 infamous culprits: Chris Baker and Langdon Perry of KTLK radio in Minneapolis.

Those two morons just queried Magic’s health, saying his AIDS was faked all along. Just have a glance at the transcript:

Perry, “Like Magic with his faked AIDS. Magic faked AIDS.”

Baker said, “You think Magic faked AIDS for sympathy?”

Perry replied, “I’m convinced that Magic faked AIDS, because he’s the very first man to have recovered from AIDS.”

“Me too,” Baker said.

I think it’s pretty unsettling to read such foolishness. There’s no way in hell Magic faked his disease. I mean how in the world can you distrust a man who claims he’s having AIDS? And why would Magic have lied anyway? What’s the point? He was only 32 at the time and his career was ongoing.

Johnson reacted later and said he was baffled to hear a such thing, adding: “I poured my life into it and a lot of other people have poured their life into it, into getting out the right information so people can protect themselves and know what HIV and AIDS is all about.”

AIDS is a very serious issue and it’s an understatement to say those dudes aren’t the smartest tool in the shed. I assume they wanted to draw folk’s attention but it certainly wasn’t a very smart move to do.

Watch out for J.J. Redick!

I’ve been following J.J. Redick’s career ever since he played in College (Duke). At the time, he was downright a superstar over there. Think about it : the guy finished all-time leading scorer in Duke and the ACC, and even breaking the NCAA record for career 3 points made. He was typically a white basketball player: not very athletic, but very smart on the court with a great shooting skill… and without any tatooes! Plus, he stayed at the Uni until he was 22, and graduated suma cum laude. There’s a great deal of uneducated gangsta rappers-hiphop-oriented inhabiting the NCAA and the NBA, so it was kind of refreshing to see that.

Anyway, Redick subsequently got drafted by Orlando in ’06 (11th overall pick!) but his first two NBA seasons in the League turned out to be a tough experience. Saying he didn’t live up to the expectations is an understatement.

Two years ago, just before the draft I kept thinking his skinny frame and his lack of athletism  would be a major concern for his upcoming NBA career. Transitionning from College to the NBA isn’t an easy task so if you don’t beef up your body, you’re asking for trouble. That’s just the way it is.

You can’t only rely on your shooting skills forever : if it’s more than enough in College, being physically gifted is a mandatory condition to succeed in NBA. I remember reading press clippings dealing with how much Orlando staff kept warning him about that issue but he never really paid attention to it, probably thinking his shooting abilities will eventually do the trick, like it always did.

Redick was proved wrong and obviously he started to take the bull by the horn this summer, well aware his NBA career might be in jeopardy. By all accounts, he showed up much more sturdy at the Orlando Magic media day this week. I was stunned to learn that. Everybody noticed his frame was much more heavy. It’s about time! Redick finally added muscles to his slender frame. The guy seems more aware of what being an NBA player really takes.

He’s about to start his third year in the League, so I guess it’s probably one of his latest shots to make it. That being said if being physically more strong will be helpful, for some reason it won’t be enough.

Time has passed since College and after spending 2 years with a tiny playing time, he’s probably lost some confidence in his game. He needs to retrieve some sensations on the court. Plus, Orlando roster is overloaded at the guard position: rookie Courtney Lee is expected to have an impact quite quickly, Mike Pietrus will bring his energy and his tough defense, and Keith Bogans still sticks around. He’d be better off in a team that really needs him, and the best thing for him would be to be traded, but Orlando staff is reluctant to do that. But a season is quite long, and he’ll get an opportunity. He’ll just have to be ready at the right moment.

Anyway I’m eager to see how Redick is gonna cope with that. He was a superstar in College. He underachieved so far. Now is the time for him to have a breakout season, maybe his final shot… How is he gonna handle the pressure? I’m lookin’ forward to it, be sure I’m gonna keep a close eye on his plight !

Kemp confirms comeback rumors

Like I said in a previous post 2 weeks ago, Shawn Kemp is seriously contemplating a return on the court in Italy. It was all but a joke, besides Kemp himself confirmed it to Slam.

Here’s a video of “The Reignman” talkin’ about all those rumors surrounding his future, but also about all the other issues that have been disturbing his life so far.

Kemp, whose head is now totally shaved, looks reliable, and well… not stoned for once! (Just kiddin’ Shawn!)

WNBA brawl video

The game between the L.A. Sparks and Detroit Shock was almost over last night when things just took a turn for the worse. Candace Parker and Cheryl Ford got into a brawl. 

That’s the kind of thing I don’t like to see on a sports ground, but… when a game gets tough physically, well that’s the way the cookie crumbles!

Here’s the video, but be aware it ain’t for the faint-hearted!

Darius Miles’ comeback?

EDIT August 23th

Darius Miles made it. He enticed the Boston Celtics, and is getting a non-guaranteed contract with the C’s.

                                                  ****************

Every now and then, a former NBA player tries to come-back in NBA. Well, it just ticks me off…

Last summer, it was Allan Houston who tried to get a spot in New York, to no avail. Penny Hardaway even pulled off that feat by signing a contract with Miami, but they waived him later in the season. In the past, Shawn Kemp, Charles Oakley and many others gave it a try.

This summer, it seems Darius Miles is contemplating to do the same thing. Do you remember this guy?  He was drafted by the L.A. Clippers in 2000, before playing for Cleveland and Portland. Talkin’ about Portland, I guess they’re gonna scrutinize Miles’ attempt to come back. Because if he can make it, and plays at least 10 games next season, Portland would owe him 9 Million dollars! I guess some folks in Portland hope Miles won’t get a brand-new contract!

Lately, Miles has attended several workouts, with the Nets, Celtics, Suns and Mavericks. With the Mavs it apparently went well, a member of the camp saying: “He was much better than I thought he’d be. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give him a solid 8.”

Miles, who turns 27 next october, hasn’t played in two years because of a knee injury. In november ’06, he underwent a surgery to fix his right knee, and didn’t play ball since then. Worst, many doctors have deemed his injury was meaning the end of his career. Plain and simple. Honestly, I don’t see how a guy who was sidelined for 2 years could be in basketball shape throughout a whole season. For me, it’s nearly impossible.

If his physical shape remains a concern for the teams who’d be eager to hire him, Miles must face another major issue: his reputation. Before leaving the NBA, he was basically portrayed as a bad guy. You know, the type of guy who creates havoc in a team. Once you’re labelled as a hoodlum, it’s hard to change people’s mind. Those 2 hurdles could hinder his forlorn attempt to come-back in the league.

Anyway, Miles looks very motivated and I’m curious to see how this story will end up. I’ll follow it closely on my blog!

Lamar Odom

I just wanna pay tribute to my favorite player Lamar Odom, and say how fed up I am of all those trade rumors involving Odom. If I still love the game, it’s mainly because of him and his unselfish game. Nowadays, the NBA is overloaded by players who are physicaly gifted but who don’t have enough brain on the court. The worst part of it being those guys are used to sulk as soon as their playing time is too low, or when they don’t get enough shots. Not a good thing for team chemistry!

Well, Lamar Odom is just the opposite. Basically, this guy can do a little bit of everything on the court: he can score, pass, rebound, block some shots, defend… a complete game. Besides, Lamar can play four positions on the court: point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward! That’s why I’m so impressed by his game. Plus, this type of versatile player tends to disappear nowadays. A player who can play four positions is priceless. If anything, he embodies the type of players every wise coach craves to have in his own team.

However I think Lamar Odom, who went through a lot during his childhood, doesn’t get the respect he deserves. That’s the kind of thing that annoys me. For instance, Odom is deemed by many as the scapegoat of the Lakers failure in the Finals. He got lambasted by L.A. fans after this setback. Okay, Odom struggled in the Finals, he even looked downhearted at some point. Actually, he started to struggle after Game 2, and was quite useless for the Lakers during game 3 and 4. During those games, that was Odom’s ghost on the floor, but luckily he bounced back in Game 5, and was even critical that night, leading L.A to the victory, and letting his team to keep breathing.
Anyway L.A. lacked toughness and experience to threaten Boston until the end. L.A. fans just can’t blame a single player for a failure. Plus with Bynum presence, who had a breakout season this year, I’m fairly certain Celtics’ defense would have been less tightened on Odom.

Folks easily forget how great Odom was throughout the playoffs, especially against the Utah Jazz. In this serie, he was a key contributor, and let L.A. reach the Finals for the very first time since 2004.
The saddest thing in this story is the Lakers seem to be totally unaware they have a gold nugget with Odom.

Besides, since he joinded them in ’04, they tried to trade him almost every summer! Not officially of course, but he was always rumored to be shipped away elsewhere. This summer, maybe more than ever, it’s basically the same thing… And honestly, L.A. would be hard pressed to find a player as skilled and versatile as Odom.

The Lakers would make a big mistake by trading him, mark my words!

John Crotty

If you ain’t an NBA-addict, you’ve probably never heard of John Crotty.
Crotty is a guy who played 11 years in NBA from 1992 to 2003 on several teams, including Utah, Cleveland, Miami, Portland, Seattle, Detroit, Denver. Overall he played in 477 games, which makes him a true veteran of the NBA. Most often, he was always asked to perform some small tasks on the court. Dirty work, mostly.

Like I said, he retired after the 2002/03 season, after a last insipid stint with the Denver Nuggets (only 12 games for his last season, maybe he was plagued with injuries… or maybe he collected a great deal of “Did Not Play-Coach decision…nah just teasing, John!, even if John actually did collect a bunch of “DNP” throughout his career, and was often a benchwarmer…).
Despite playing 11 years in the L, he ain’t the type of guy that fans will remember for decades. Truthfully, I guess it didn’t take long for people to forget him, except maybe his former teammates and managers!
The regular NBA fan certainly wasn’t emotionally affected (neither was I!) when John decided it was time to leave the NBA in 2003, after all John registered some very low numbers during his career : 4.0 ppg; 2.1 apg, 1.1 rpg, and averaged about 12 minutes per game. You’ll agree with me when I say that John Crotty didn’t revolutionize the game, to say the least.

It may sounds unfair, but that was Crotty’s fate : a guy who, no matter where he plays, no matter what he achieves, nobody would ever remember him. Even if he played well in a game, Crotty would always be the unsung hero.
Don’t get me wrong : I don’t poke fun at John Crotty. Actually, I kind of respect this guy (if I wasn’t, I certainly wouldn’t waste my time writing this post!).
In fact, I respect him a lot more than some NBA superstars, who are highly skilled, but who acts like some spoiled child and got a me-first attitude. (Yo, Marbury ! How ya doin’ ?!)

If you take some time to look closer at Crotty’s career, you’ll be stunned to notice how this guy built an interesting career, in spite of low chances at the start. Odds were truly against it, ‘cause he lacked athletic qualities, which is a fundamental knack to make it in the NBA.
But John had some qualities to show : humanly he was a hard-working guy, was very respectful of his coaches, didn’t cause any turmoil in his different teams. Not the type of guy who would be sulking on the bench if his playing time is low. And on the court, it may sounds hard to believe for some people, but John had some skills as well : he was able to hit some three’s (38.4% throughout his carrer, a very good percentage), and pretty accurate on the free-throw line (83.7 %).

I guess it saved his whole career in the League, ‘cause with a player like Crotty, coaches were well aware they had a player who wouldn’t spend his time bitchin’ about his reduced role… and that he could pull off whatever he was asked to do: most often, he was asked to be a decent back-up, let the starting point-guard catch his breath on the bench,  score 3/4 pts, and hand out 2/3 assists in about 10 minutes on the court. It sums up his whole career.
And John Crotty could do that better than anyone, without complaining. He quickly get used to his role, and he was soon pigeonholed around the league as a perfect back up for any teams who already got an All-Star point guard on its roster. He became sorta a poster boy for the back up point guard position!
Besides, here are some of the great PG’s John played with : John Stockton (all-time leading-passer in the L), Mark Price, Tim Hardaway, Gary Payton… Yeah, only some big shots!

Becoming a NBA player wasn’t an easy task for Crotty : actually, he struggled to make it.
He played college ball at Virginia for 4 years till 1991. He left Virginia with some solid stats, even if his stats were far from being mind-boggling : 12.8 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.5 rpg, and 1 steal per game.
Crotty was a team captain as a junior and a senior. He played in 129 games (32 minutes per game) at Virginia and started the last 104 games of his collegiate career.

At Virginia, Crotty will ever be remembered as the one who holds Virginia’s records for career assists with 683 and assists in a season with 214 (1989-90).
Among others distinctions, Crotty was a third-team All-ACC selection in 1990 and 1991. He was a first-team All-ACC Tournament choice in 1991 and a second-team All-ACC Tournament selection in 1990. He also earned honorable mention All-America honors from The Associated Press and The Sporting News in 1990.
Despite all his accomplishments, Crotty was undrafted after his 4 years at Virginia.
I guess his lack of adress (41.5 FG%, and only 69.4% FT) and his lack of athleticism was a concern for several NBA scouts before the draft. For them, he was way too slow to make it in NBA.

Crotty struggled to achieve his goal. He had to prove his worth during the ruthless summer leagues. He was pit against others unemployed players (and most often more skilled as him!), whose only goal was to get a spot in NBA. He failed in 1991, and has no choice but to play in the Global Basketball Association in 1991-92. It was a minor league, and it was hard to make a living in this league.
But Crotty was a strong-minded guy, and he kept saying to himself there was no way in hell he wouldn’t get a gig in NBA. He knew he was able to bring something to an NBA team, he felt ready for it, and now was the time to show it.
So he attended the Utah Jazz’s summer league. At the time (1992), Utah happened to be looking for a back-up point guard, to play behind Stockton.
Needless to say that the Stockton’s back-up wouldn’t get a lotta minutes, but Crotty didn’t care, he was well aware he’d never be a starting PG, yet he decided to give it his best shot, and to just play his game like he ever did. To do what he can do, and not try to play like a superstar he’ll never be. And it worked ! The Jazz were convinced by his abilities, especially his passing skills, Crotty appeared as a pass-first, shoot-second type of PG, and it turned out that was exactly what the Jazz were looking for!

His accomplishments during the Summer League, combined with his good season in the GBA convinced the Utah Jazz to sign him. He was indeed signed as a free agent by this organization on 9/4/92.
It was not a lucrative contract, though (about $140.000 for his first year as a rookie), but John Crotty didn’t care, he was just in hog heaven : his dream to play in NBA finally came true, he pulled that off!
He was definitely on cloud nine, on top of the world!
But getting a spot in the NBA was only the 1^st step : the ultimate goal was to make a long career in this league, that’s why the young Crotty decided to work at double speed, and to learn a lot behind a tremendous PG like John Stockton.

He spent 3 whole seasons with the Jazz, with a reduced playing time.
Somehow, those 3 years kind of shaped his career. He would now be considered as an eternal back-up, who was just there to run a team for a few minutes on the court. Or worse, to remain on the bench, if his coach would deem unnecessary to make him play.
Crotty would never bitch about it, ‘cause he knew the only way for him to remain in the L was to keep a positive attitude, and to carry out whatever his coaches would ask him to do. Most often, it was to do the dirty work, and/or to play in the garbage time.
His next teams would use him the same way the Jazz did : as a mere role-player.

His stats and his status were ludicrous, and John Crotty was used to see the disrepect in the eyes of his opponents, of the fans around the league, and sometimes of his own fans, like in Utah. John had no choice but to cope with that.
However, every now and then, Crotty posted some shining stats. For instance on 2 different occasions, he poured 19 pts in a game! The first time was on 2/29/96 with Cleveland against the Milwaukee Bucks, and second time was in a 101-84 win over the Houston Rockets on 4/4/99. Needless to say 19 pts was his career-high.
When he got traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in ‘97, Crotty made an awesome debut against the Seatlle Sonics : 17 pts and 8 assists. Or again 18 pts and 5 assists with Miami against the Phoenix Suns on 1/27/97!

And… well that’s it. Those games are the highlights of his career. Yeah, somehow the journeyman point guard John Crotty overachieved, ‘cause nobody expected him to stick around for 11 years in NBA. In fact, his game wasn’t meant to play in NBA. Anyway, John did it, and I truly admire this type of players.